Jasmin Stover, better known as Fun Boss, stepped onto the unfamiliar deck looking around and taking in her new workplace: the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1). Despite having been a military brat her entire life, she was outside her comfort zone as she made her way through the maze of passageways and ladderwells onboard. There were no windows and a thousand people she didn’t know, yet she was comfortable taking a seat in her office and getting to work. Already, she had ideas.
Since late Winter, Wasp has been without a Fun Boss, and now that the ship has one again, Sailors can expect a schedule packed with events and trips. Working directly alongside the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) team, Stover is busy settling into her role and taking her duties in stride.
Some of Stover’s ideas include on and off ship activities. She wants to get people together for movie nights, an ice cream social, theme park trips, gaming competitions, camping and a scavenger hunt. But, her first priority is to know what the Sailors want.
“I need to survey or poll the crew as much as I can,” Stover said. “I could come up with dozens of ideas for trips, tours, programs and tournaments, and no one will show up if it’s not what you guys want to do.”
Stover is ready for as many ideas and as much feedback as the crew can throw at her. She aims to not only improve mental health ship-wide but physical health too as the gym onboard gets ready to reopen after 17 months of being inoperable due to a yards period.
With the physical readiness test (PRT) coming to an end, it’s as important as ever for Sailors to continue to maintain their fitness. Having a gym available at the workplace will open up opportunities for the crew to create time to work out.
“[Having the gym open] will motivate a lot more people to work out more often. There’s no reason to say, ‘Oh, I can’t go to the gym because I don’t feel like driving,’” said Information System Technician 2nd Class Orlando Campbell, a Command Fitness Leader. “It doesn’t have to be a super long workout. It can be ten minutes – fifteen.”
In order to encourage people to work out, Stover plans on hosting fitness classes. She is especially excited about starting a 500/1000 pounds club. Participants would do three core lifts: the dead lift, squat and bench press. The goal is for the combined weights of all those lifts to add up to 500 or 1000 pounds, Stover explained.
Groups like this will give people a goal to reach in the gym, motivating them to go more often. Stover, who has a degree in exercise science, also encourages Sailors to find a work out buddy and not to be afraid to ask for help.
“If someone needs a gym buddy,” Stover said, “I’d be more than happy to be that person if they don’t feel comfortable going by themselves.”
With an endless sky at her horizon, Stover is ready to take on whatever the Wasp crew wants to do. From hiking through mountains to playing dungeons and dragons, she is willing to dive into any interest.